As a general and conventional moving picture playback apparatus for playing back moving pictures, there is a video tape recorder (VTR). With VTR, moving pictures are recorded on a video tape. When a user presses buttons such as “playback”, “stop”, “frame forward”, “frame rewind” etc., on the VTR apparatus, which the video tape is set to, the tape is controlled according to an instruction, and the recorded moving pictures are displayed on a screen.
Furthermore, as the general and conventional moving picture collection apparatus for collecting moving pictures, there is a video camera recorder. The video camera recorder is a video camera combined with the VTR in one piece so as to make it easy to carry, and moving pictures shot with the video camera are to be recorded on the video tape by the VTR.
Here, let us consider a case when we shoot moving pictures with the video camera, and record and edit the moving pictures and produce a video title.
On the video tape, several scenes, for example, a “Scene at the Airport”,a “Scene at the Port”,a “Scene on a Superhighway”,a “Scene on the Railroad”,etc., are recorded. Suppose if we are to produce a video title regarding ground transportation, we have to select appropriate scenes such as the scenes at the airport, the scenes on the superhighway, the scenes on the railroad, etc., from the video tape, and then rearrange and concatenate them in a desired order. Moreover, in order to playback a certain segment of a scene, we have to set a playback segment in the scene, and we have to implement processing so as to specify the playback speed in order to playback the part in slow motion. For additional effects, such as overlapping the scene of the railroad on the scene of the superhighway, several scenes must be composited.
As an example of moving picture edit apparatus designed for such editing based on the moving pictures recorded on the video tape, there is a video edit system which combines the edit control apparatus with two or more VTRs. This system designates one VTR as an input VTR and the other VTRs as output VTRs, and edit operation such as processing or concatenating scenes are carried out by dubbing necessary scenes from the input VTR to output VTR in the order. Also, a composite edit operation is implemented by compositing signals from several input VTRs by the edit control unit and then sending out to the output VTRs.
Those are examples of the conventional and general moving picture playback apparatus and the moving picture edit apparatus using it, in recent years, a moving picture edit apparatus using a computer called a non-linear edit system is widely put to use (a typical product of the non-linear edit system is the MCXpress by Avid Technology Company of the United States). The non-linear edit system applies the technology which digitallizes moving picture data, compresses the data, and stores it in a computer memory, and then reads the data as necessary and playbacks after expanding the data. When this non-linear edit system is compared with the previously mentioned video edit system, the non-linear edit system has an advantage in editing without repeating dubbing from the video tape to the video tape, and thereby it's usage is gradually spreading.
The operation of the non-linear edit system, which is one example of the conventional moving picture edit apparatus, will be explained next.
FIG. 38 shows a general configuration of the conventional non-linear edit system.
The non-linear edit system is configured with a sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2 (the moving picture storage unit for VTR, etc., and called as the sequential access type moving picture storage unit hereinafter in order to distinguish it from the moving picture storage unit using a hard disk of a computer.) connected to a computer 50. In a typical configuration of the non-linear edit system, computer 50 and sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2 are connected with a signal cable and control cable. The signal cable inputs signals of moving pictures or sound played back by sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2 into computer 50. And the control cable is used for controlling playback, stop, frame forward, or frame rewind from computer 50 to sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2, and for transmitting the frame number of the frame currently displayed from sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2 to computer 50.
Moving pictures shot with the video camera are recorded on a medium such as the video tape, and then stored in the sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2.
The user performs editing by inputting a command from a command input unit 8 using a keyboard or a mouse of the computer.
An example of user interface for editing is illustrated in FIG. 39.
In the figure, there are shown a scene menu window 111, a displayed scene icon 112, a moving picture playback window 113 for playing back one of the scenes, playback control buttons 114 for controlling moving picture playback by the moving picture playback window 113, a stop button 115, a playback button 116, a frame rewind button 117, a frame forward button 118, a scene definition window 119 for specifying a starting frame and an ending frame for each scene, a new scene display button 120 for displaying new scenes, and a moving picture edit window 121 for concatenating and compositing each scene and defining a new scene.
The editing is performed in the following procedure using the user interface aforementioned.
(1) Defining a Scene
The user firstly defines a scene of related segment in the moving pictures such as the scene of the airport, the scene of the superhighway, and so forth, by a scene definition unit 20. The information of the defined scene is stored in scene information storage unit 5. The scene information contains a specified starting frame number and ending frame number for each scene.
FIG. 40 indicates one example of the scene information.
The explanation of the frame number is now given. A moving picture, for instance, consists of 30 images per second. Each image is referred to as the frame. Moving pictures are recorded on a medium such as the video tape by sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2, and the number specifying each frame on the medium is called the frame number.
Business VTRs use the number called the time code for the purpose of specifying frames. The time code is expressed with an 8-digit number such as 01:10:35:08, which represents the 8th frame of one hour, ten minute, and 35 seconds.
Defining a scene is, for example, carried out as below.
First of all, in FIG. 39, a new scene display button 120 is clicked with the mouse. Then, a new scene having no defined title, starting frame and ending frame is displayed on moving picture playback window 113. The scene is then defined by inputting the title, starting frame number, and ending frame number at the keyboard on scene definition window 119.
For defining a scene in the previously mentioned method, the user has to know the starting frame number and the ending frame number of the scene to be defined beforehand. Business VTRs are provided with a function to display the time code of the frame currently displayed on the monitor screen, which enables the user to know the starting frame number and the ending frame number by reading the displayed time code from the screen by positioning the desired frame using such buttons as the forward button, rewind button, frame forward, frame rewind, etc., of the VTR.
(2) Reading a Moving Picture
Then, the defined scene is digitally compressed by a moving picture digital compression unit 6, and stored in direct access type moving picture storage unit 7 of computer 50 (a hard disk memory, and is referred to as the direct access type moving picture storage unit hereinafter to distinguish it from sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2 of the VTR, etc.).
With regard to the format of digital compression of moving pictures, there are various types of formats such as MPEG, Motion-JPEG, Cinepak, and so forth, but because the computation amount becomes huge whichever system is used for digital compression, it is common to execute by inserting an extension board special for digital compression into the computer so as to shorten the processing time.
The processing for digital compression of moving pictures becomes as explained below.
The system first performs processing of digital compression for each scene defined by scene definition unit 20. Because each scene has its starting frame and ending frame described, computer 50 controls sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2 to position the starting frame of a target scene.
Then, the playback of sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2 is started, and at the same time, an instruction is sent to moving picture digital compression unit 6, and the processing for digital compression starts. Moving picture digital compression unit 6 inputs signals output from sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2, and converts each frame into digital data, and performs data compression. The obtained digital compression data is stored in direct access type moving picture storage unit 7.
(3) Displaying a Scene
In FIG. 39, scene menu window 111, for each scene stored in a scene information storage unit 5, moving picture display unit 9 creates a scene icon 112 and displays. For scene icon 112, any image which allows the user to easily grasp the content of the scene can be used, but it is typically created by contracting the first frame of each scene. Furthermore, when one of the scenes is selected by the click of the mouse, moving picture display unit 9 displays the selected scene on a moving picture playback window 113. The display of moving picture playback window 113 can be controlled by playback control button 114, and the playback of the moving pictures is started when playback button 116 is clicked, and the playback of the moving pictures is stopped when stop button 115 is clicked. Or, when frame rewind button 117 or frame forward button 118 is clicked, a frame immediately before or after the current frame is displayed and stopped.
In such a case, moving picture display unit 9 reads the moving picture data digitally compressed and stored in direct access type moving picture storage unit 7, expands the data on the spot, and performs processing of displaying the obtained data on the screen.
The edit operation explained below is proceeded by displaying and checking the contents of each scene as thus far explained.
(4) Executing an Edit Operation
The edit operation involves processing, concatenating, and compositing scenes. As an example of a scene processing, there are a setting of a playback area or partial change in playback speed. This operation is performed by specifying the playback area by the frame number on scene definition window 119. Also, a scene concatenation or scene composition is performed by lining each scene icon 112 on moving picture edit window 121. On moving picture edit window 121, the horizontal axis corresponds to the time axis, and when scene icon 112 is lined within this window in order, each scene is concatenated from left to right in order and the new scene is defined. Moreover, there are two tracks A and B on moving picture edit window 121, and when scenes are lined at the same time belt on both tracks, two scenes are composited.
The defined scene is stored in direct access type moving picture storage unit 7, and the scene information is stored in scene information storage unit 5. An example of describing the newly defined scene is shown in FIG. 41.
(5) Creating a Moving Picture
The new scene is defined by the above mentioned edit operation. Based on the description of the scene, moving picture creation unit 11 reads the moving picture data of each scene stored in direct access type moving picture storage unit 7, and processes, concatenates, composites, and performs other operations to create a new moving picture data. The created moving picture data is again stored in direct access type moving picture storage unit 7. When the moving picture data is read and copied onto a medium such as a CD ROM, the medium can be distributed and data can be played back on other computers. It is also possible that the moving picture data is played back and the signal can be transmitted to sequential access type moving picture storage unit 2, and then recorded onto the medium such as the video tape, then the medium can be distributed and the data can be played back on the VTR, and so on.
The conventional moving picture playback apparatus and the moving picture collection apparatus are configured as above mentioned. Let us suppose now that one hundred scenes are shot with the video camera, and each scene is about 30 seconds, and then edit those moving pictures. In order to perform editing, scenes in the moving pictures must first be defined. In order to define the scenes, a work of specifying, the starting frame and ending frame for each of the 100 scenes must be performed. For defining one scene, if it takes about 30 seconds to perform the operation for finding out the starting fame and ending frame by implementing the forward, rewind, frame forward, frame rewind, etc. of the VTR, then, it amounts to about 50 minutes to define 100 scenes.
Also, for the processing of compressing data by digitallizing the moving pictures, because it generally takes about the same time period as the continuation time period of the moving pictures, it takes about 50 minutes for processing digitally compressing 100 scenes and storing in the direct access type moving picture storage unit.
In this way, the conventional moving picture playback apparatus and the moving picture collection apparatus pose a problem of taking substantial time period until the edit operation is enabled after the shooting of moving pictures has ended, in order to define the scenes or to read the moving pictures.
Or, in defining the scene, the work of specifying the starting frame and ending frame of the scene exactly is a troublesome task which cannot be done without careful attention.
Furthermore, the moving picture data must be digitally compressed and stored in the computer memory, if, for instance, data compression is performed in the MPEG1 compression format, the digitally compressed moving picture data becomes about 1.5 megabit data amount per second. In order to digitallize all 100 scenes and store in the computer memory in the MPEG1 format, a storage capacity of at least 500 mega bytes is required.
Also, in order to perform digital compression of moving pictures, an expansion board special for digital compression of moving pictures must be inserted into the computer.
In this way, because the conventional moving picture edit apparatus needs a large capacity storage or a compression board special for moving pictures, it poses problems that it becomes a large-size apparatus not suited to carry around or for use in a limited space such as a home or office
This invention is designed to solve above-mentioned problems, and it aims at obtaining a moving picture playback apparatus or a moving picture collection apparatus which can define scenes or read moving pictures in a short time, and confirm the contents of the collected moving pictures quickly.